Three rounds in, no new quarterback for the Patriots

Posted by Mike Florio on April 28, 2018, 10:11 AM EDT

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The New England Patriots widely are believed to be determined to emerge from the 2018 draft with a new quarterback who can be groomed to eventually take over for Tom Brady. Through three rounds, it hasn’t happened yet.

From the rumors of trading up to the top five to get one of the premier guys to trading up to the top 10 to get Josh Rosen to trading up to the teens to get Lamar Jackson to standing pat to get Jackson at No. 23 to getting Jackson at No. 31, none of that happened. The sixth quarterback, Mason Rudolph, plummeted through round two without being picked by the Pats. (Curiously, two of New England’s top AFC rivals, Baltimore and Pittsburgh, ended up with Jackson and Rudolph, respectively.)

With five picks left as round four starts, the question remains not if but when the Patriots will pick up a new quarterback. Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta has been linked most extensively to the Patriots in one of the later rounds, which serves as an open invitation to another team to get Lauletta before the Patriots can.

The repeated stories connecting the Patriots to Lauletta invite speculation that the Patriots have leaked their interest in Lauletta because they’re actually interested in someone else. Not everyone buys the idea that the Patriots are still able to execute such misdirections. As one league source explained it to PFT on Friday, there’s an emerging belief that the Patriots no longer can maintain strict silence like they once did.

The source said there’s a belief that the Patriots were genuinely interested in Jackson, but that they had hoped to get him in round two. The source also noted that the Patriots were believed to be interested in both center Frank Ragnow and linebacker Rashaan Evans with the 23rd pick in round one. The Lions (where former Patriots exec Bob Quinn is the G.M. and former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is the head coach) took Ragnow and the Titans (where former Patriots exec Jon Robinson is the G.M. and former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel is the coach) traded up to No. 22 to take Evans.

“It used to be that you couldn’t get info out of New England, but I think those days are over,” the source said. “Too many branches all over the league.”

At a time when there’s a perception that a revolt is occurring in the Patriots locker room against the ways of Bill Belichick (and the unexplained benching of Malcolm Butler in Super Bowl LII), the possibility that the coaching staff and front office aren’t as buttoned up as they used to be is an intriguing thought, and it possibly has kept the Patriots from getting multiple players they coveted entering the 2018 draft. Whether it keeps them from getting the quarterback they want on Saturday remains to be seen.

61 responses to “Three rounds in, no new quarterback for the Patriots”

Why did anyone think they would trade Goropollo for a 2nd and then use an early pick on an unknown? They could have eaten a year or two of the tag on Goropollo if they were really that desperate. They’re taking best player available like they always do.

So much for all the salty haters claiming Brady (505yds in SB) was past it, or hated BB’s hard work ethic (despite setting up extra passing camps on top). But I do think they’ll take a QB-project in a late round, maybe Kyle Lauletta. With Brady playing another 2-4yrs, there’s no panic yet.

I would believe the Pats were looking for Rudolph or Jackson in a later round before I would believe they were inclined to bundle the picks required to get into the top 10. The Lamar Jackson thing was interesting. His report on being slow to get through – or miss entirely – his progressions seems at odds with a Patriot led offense, but maybe McDaniels is enamored by the concept of an athletic QB and Belichick was willing to hand him one.

If I had to wager I would say that they were not expecting Jackson to go before their pick in the 2nd and Baltimore surprised them, and the value they had on Rudolph was in the 4th somewhere and not the 70’s. But only The Shadow knows what evil lurks in the heart of Belichick.

All it shows is how false rumors are. According to rumors BB was leaving, Brady was retiring, and Gronk was retiring, BB was mad about Jimmy G leaving even though he knew NE extended Brady in 2016 that made it impossible for Jimmy G to stay. Haters love NE rumors. Thankfully, NE continues merrily along.

***Im not at all a pats fan*** BUUUUUT….Why does everyone always expect the patriots to force/over draft their players? Its waaaay out of character for them, and didnt expect them to do it now. If they thought they could get a player they liked for good value…they would have taken one. It doesnt seem like that happened so here we are, and as much as we all hate it…it usually works for them.

So to be clear, this post is hypothesizing that because the Patriots didn’t do the things the talking heads claimed they’d do– aggressively trade up for a QB, trade up if Rosen slid, draft Jackson– it means the Patriots no longer can keep info. in house?

That makes sense. Way more sense than just admitting that the “experts” never have a read on what the Pats are planning anyway.

As long as we’re throwing out hypotheses, here’s one: Maybe after Brady outplayed/outlasted Garoppolo, Belichick decided he’s not willing to spend much draft capital on another replacement at this point. Didn’t they pick up next year’s 2nd rounder from the Bears? Wouldn’t that give them flexibility to make a move on a QB next year if they choose?

The best QB in the draft is Luke Falk, and he’s still on the board. Just like when Brady was drafted in the 6th round. He was the best QB that year, right? We have short memories. Every super bowl Sunday, we’re reminded that the QB position is 95% mental, but somehow, between Super Bowl Sunday and the draft, we forget. So on draft day everyone gets excited about athletes. Look at The Browns. Johnny Manziel, DeShone Kizer, and Baker Mayfield. All great athletes, yet they still have the number one pick, so that ain’t working. Look at all the QB’s that play in super bowls. Tom Brady, Nick Foles, Matt Ryan, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning. None would be considered great athletes, but they’re all smart and extremely accurate. Just like Luke Falk. Is Bill Belichick really that smart, or are the rest of us just really stupid?

Lauletta and Luke Faulk are going to be decent prospects, but that is if they have a chance to sit and learn. The Patriots and Dolphins are doing the right thing here. They have QBs to play this year. The other teams were desperate for Starters. That does not mean from Day 1 of this coming season, but someone who can step in.. for example: the minute Flacco throws 3 picks, Jackson comes in. The 4th round is the right place to pick a good developmental QB with good mechanics and the ability to read offenses. I will bet anyone that of the 5 Top QBs in the 1st round only 3 will be a Starter, 2 will be decent and 1 will be Elite (Top 10) in 3 years from now. I know I am right because the numbers sayt so. It is a crap shoot. The situation matters more than the players. Situation being Coaching, Team level of play, type of offense, QB mentorship, etc.

If Brady is really going to play until he is 45 like he says, that is 4 more years and a rookie’s contract would be up by then. I think they will wait at least another year or two to pick his replacement. They’ll probably get a backup in the late rounds today.

Posters here act like they think Tom Brady runs the team. Here is a couple of quotes from former players on how TB is treated by management.

Aqib Talib: “Once, in practice, Brady threw a seam ball that was intercepted, and Bill, man, he chewed Tom out, saying, ‘You got 130 career interceptions,’ or whatever it was, ‘and half of them are on this route. You keep doing the same s— over and over and this is what happens.’ Right then you know two things about the Patriots and Bill Belichick: Everybody is treated the same, and you better get your s— together.”

Kevin Faulk: “I loved when Bill would yell at Tom Brady and say, ‘Hey, Tom, I could go get the quarterback at Foxborough High to do it better than that.'”

Maybe they’re waiting til next year? Or maybe they’re waiting until Brady actually retires to replace him? Maybe they won’t replace him with a rookie at all. First of all, you can’t just pick ANY QB. Second, it’s the Patriots…. they expect to win every single year. I wouldn’t be surprised if they replace Brady with an already proven veteran (Joe Flacco) or emerging veteran (AJ McCarron) when the time comes.

Why did anyone think they would trade Goropollo for a 2nd and then use an early pick on an unknown? They could have eaten a year or two of the tag on Goropollo if they were really that desperate.
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This makes no sense. First of all, EVERY draft pick is essentially an “unknown”. Newsflash, none of them have played in the NFL before. Second, NO they couldn’t tag Jimmy for 2 years and pay nearly 50 mil for a backup while Tommy Boy whines to the teams daddy about having someone to look over his shoulder at. They couldn’t afford it either in terms of salary cap for building a competitive team around Tom in his last couple years, and in terms of team chemistry since Jimmy’s presence obviously bothered him so much to the point where he’d lobby to ownership behind his coaches back to get rid of him. Third, if they aren’t desperate now, they very soon will be. I don’t care how many avocados you eat, if you’re over the age of 40 the cliff will be sudden and steep, not slow and gradual. The organization sold out it’s future for short term nostalgia, and in Bill’s entire tenure there that has NEVER been the “Patriot Way”. They sell high on players before they decline and plug in their replacements, not sell the replacements for pennies on the dollar to accommodate the pride of their aging players.

All this really means is that they expect Tom Brady to play 2-3 years or possibly more. If it’s two more years, then next year is more realistic for a high pick at that position or a developmental pick this year. If they pick someone today, that quarterback should be prepared to sit for two years at a minimum. The Patriots are better off focused on linebackers today.

The only thing that is certain is the complete ineptitude of the Boston Sports Media. They make up stories and float rumors as truth. Then, when those things don’t happen, they say the Patriots were beaten to the pick, or there is a rift behind the scenes, or some other total crap. It’s all about the clicks, there is no accountability and they make stuff up every day that gets spread as truth.

No, he got 7 wins on a wretched Browns team that hasn’t got more than 2 in a season I think since they dumped him. Surround Hoyer with quality players and good coaching and he is a good, adequate NFL QB. He’s not great but he’s not the awful player a lot of people make him out to be.

This story is total BS. They could have had Lamar Jackson at 31. Lock him into a 5th year. They passed on him twice. Wonder why? Because they didn’t want him. Usually the most direct answer is the correct one. Same for Rudolph. Passed on him 3 times. Same answer. People need to stop looking for complex 8-turn misdirection. They traded down twice in the 2nd round as well. Had 4 shots in the 2nd round at Rudolph. They don’t like him as a QB. Sorry, its as simple as that.

There doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary with the Patriots choices. And let’s not forget that they have youngsters OL Antonio Garcia, CB Cyrus Jones and LB Derek Rivers coming back off IR.

Picking up a developmental QB is a luxury at this point. Brady shows no sign of slowing down and in a pinch Brian Hoyer would be tapped to hold the fort.
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Its funny all the theories the talking heads come up with as to why the Patriots didnt draft a qb yesterday. Most of them are based on the assumption that these are squabbling children running this team and not skilled professionals focused on maintaining a winning organization. My own theory is that these talking heads and commenters are just kids that squabble a lot so they cant picture anything else. But really the most likely and obvious theory would be that they did not draft a qb yesterday because they did not need to, and there were other things they did need so they focused on that stuff instead.

Just an observation, the Pats did kick one of their second rounders forward a year while picking up another fourth at the same time. If they were to draft a higher up replacement for Brady with the idea of 2-3 years development before he takes over then next year is a much better starting point than this year would have been. For this year they should do no more than use a very late pick to take a flier on one of the deeper guys that looks like he might develop given time, and then see it he does. (They have even had some level of success doing that in the past so….)

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Also, let’s not forget that Belichick picked up the Bears #2 in next year’s draft. Seeing that the NFC North should be a highly competitive division, it could turn out to be a high 2. It possible that the Patriots make their move for a QB next year when the QB chase is less chaotic.
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YES. Remember the Texans 2015 playoff appearance, lol. The Texans played in the first AFC Wild Card game against the Kansas City Chiefs, where Hoyer struggled, throwing for 136 passing yards and FOUR interceptions; losing 30–0. Hoyer was so bad that the Texans went and signed Osweiller for $17 M, and we know how that turned out (Traded to Cleveland with their 2018 2nd round pick – which ended up being Nick Chubb at #35).

Hoyer is so bad that he not only kills you when he’s your starter, even after he’s gone he hurts next years’ team. Good luck with Hoyer, lol.

patsfan4lifesbchamps says:
April 28, 2018 at 10:52 am
The way Belichick is reloading the roster, they can plug in the last pick in the draft, Mr. Irrelevant and not skip a beat. What a great system.
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That would almost make sense, even from a fake pats fantroll if not for a guy named Moore I believe, who was drafted last and did contribute. And it is a great system that anyone who has an adequate IQ, work ethic and desire can use.

YES. Remember the Texans 2015 playoff appearance, lol. The Texans played in the first AFC Wild Card game against the Kansas City Chiefs, where Hoyer struggled, throwing for 136 passing yards and FOUR interceptions; losing 30–0. Hoyer was so bad that the Texans went and signed Osweiller for $17 M, and we know how that turned out (Traded to Cleveland with their 2018 2nd round pick – which ended up being Nick Chubb at #35).

Hoyer is so bad that he not only kills you when he’s your starter, even after he’s gone he hurts next years’ team. Good luck with Hoyer, lol.

neatpete1 says:
April 28, 2018 at 11:53 am
Just an observation, the Pats did kick one of their second rounders forward a year while picking up another fourth at the same time. If they were to draft a higher up replacement for Brady with the idea of 2-3 years development before he takes over then next year is a much better starting point than this year would have been. For this year they should do no more than use a very late pick to take a flier on one of the deeper guys that looks like he might develop given time, and then see it he does. (They have even had some level of success doing that in the past so….)

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Update, they just coughed up their fourth rounder for a third next year. Thats a sweet deal.

Nope. I agree. He’s not a guy you’d build a roster around, but he’s certainly a decent short term fill-in if Brady were to get banged up and miss a few weeks. I’d even go one step further and say if, for example, Brady were to call it quits after this season, you could go forward with Hoyer as the starter for a year (maybe two) while you find and/or develop your next franchise QB. Those are two things that a rookie, no matter how highly drafted, is going to give you as Brady’s backup at this point.

They know that TB12 promises immortality and indefinite vitality, and are hoping that with the right treatment 32-year old youngster Brian Hoyer will join TB to form an ageless elite QB tandem. No need to draft a guy who is going to sit for 4 years and get traded.

This has to be the worst draft in the Belichick era. Disaster. It looks like Belichick didn’t like this draft, but still. They are SBowl contenders and have holes. They tried to move up to 20 but couldn’t. Detroit wanted the same guy. They were leapfrogged twice by Vrabel and the Titans. They took 2 guys many had linked to the Pats and would have filled glaring needs on a bad front 7. Then they pk Wynn, who will be a good pk IF he ca play LT in the NFL. A big if. They trade essentially a 4th for a mediocre RT, who they don’t need, with injury and weight problems in the last yr of his contract. After resigning Burkhead and Bolden, already having Gillislee and White, signing JHill, they decide they need a talented RB w/an injury history. In the 1rst rnd of a draft loaded w/ RBs. Then they overdraft a slot CB to fix the mistake they made w/CJones a couple yrs ago. Got a 2nd next yr for a 2nd this yr. That’s value? Got a 3rd next yr for a 4th this yr. Whoopie, they already had 2 3rds next yr. And don’t give me the old, ‘How many Championship teams have I built ‘ routines. BB is NOT infallible, as several previous trades and the handling of Garopollo show. EPIC FAIL!

Just a suggestion that you might want to refrain from calling a draft class an “EPIC FAIL!” before any of the players actually go through camp, get coached up, and take the field. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT. It’s Football 101.

I never said the players were terrible. It’s a fail because they didn’t fill some glaring needs in a contending yr, got poor value on most of their trades(if you trade a 2nd this yr, you should get a 1rst the following yr). They traded for an injury prone, weight challenged RT in the last yr of his contract when they already have Cannon and Waddle. Drafted a RB in the 1rst rnd with an injury history at a position they already had depth at, and had to waste a highy pk to correct for the CJones bust. Drafted another ERoberts, who’s a liability, not an asset, they screwed up on Garoppolo, etc. Sticky to my opinion. We shall see.